Case Name: Whitney v. Iwach, et al.

Case No.: 1-12-CV-220253

 

The following motions came on for hearing on April 24, 2014: (1) Motion for Summary Judgment or in the Alternative, Summary Adjudication by defendants Marc Crucigar, M.D. (erroneously sued as Marc Crugicer, M.D.), William Good, M.D. (erroneously sued as Bill Good, M.D.), Daniel Goodman, M.D., Marc Lieberman, M.D., Terri Pickering, M.D., Stuart Seif, M.D., George Tanaka, M.D., Michael Turan, M.D. and Danny Lin, M.D. (collectively, the “LLC Member Defendants”); (2) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Sydney Williams, M.D. (“Dr. Williams”); (3) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Patricia Wong, M.D. (“Dr. Wong”); (4) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Lee Schwartz, M.D. (“Dr. Schwartz”); (5) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Lillie Mosaddegh, M.D. (“Dr. Mosaddegh”); (6) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Dean Hirabayashi, M.D. (“Dr. Hirabayashi”); and (7) Motion for Summary Judgment by defendant Gary Aguilar, M.D. (“Dr. Aguilar”).

 

The LLC Member Defendants’ Motion

 

The LLC Member Defendants’ objections to evidence are SUSTAINED as to objection numbers 2, 5, 6 and 8-18 and OVERRULED as to objection numbers 1, 3, 4 and 7.

 

The LLC Member Defendants’ motion for summary for summary judgment or in the alternative, summary adjudication is GRANTED.  After full consideration of the evidence, separate statements and authorities submitted by each party, the Court finds that the LLC Member Defendants have established that none of them ever provided any care or treatment to plaintiff Donna Whitney (“Plaintiff”) at any time and each was a member of the limited liability company (“LLC”) “Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC,” doing business as “Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco,” when Plaintiff was purportedly injured as a result of the care provided by defendant Dr. Andrew Iwach on March 9, 2011.  (See the LLC Member Defendants’ Separate Statement of Undisputed Material Facts, Nos. 3, 4 and 5.)  Pursuant to Corporations Code section 17101[1], the LLC Member Defendants cannot be liable to Plaintiff based solely on their status as members of the LLC.  This section provides, in pertinent part, that:

 

[N]o member of a limited liability company shall be personally liable under any judgment of a court, or in any other manner, for any debt, obligation, or liability of the limited liability company, whether that liability or obligation arises in contract, tort, or otherwise, solely by reason of being a member of the limited liability company.

 

(Corp. Code, § 17101, subd. (a).)

 

In opposition, Plaintiff fails to present any admissible evidence which creates a triable issue of material fact as to whether the Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco is not merely the fictitious name of Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC, but rather a separate entity, a general partnership, in which the LLC Member Defendants are each partners.

 

Dr. Williams’ Motion

 

Dr. Williams’ objections to evidence are SUSTAINED.

 

Dr. Williams’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.  After full consideration of the evidence, separate statements and authorities submitted by each party, the Court finds that Dr. Williams has established that he never provided any care or treatment to Plaintiff at any time and was a member of the limited liability company “Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC,” doing business as “Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco,” when Plaintiff was purportedly injured as a result of the care provided by defendant Dr. Andrew Iwach on March 9, 2011.  (See Dr. Williams’ Undisputed Statement of Material Facts, Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7.)  Pursuant to Corporations Code section 17101, Dr. Williams cannot be liable to Plaintiff based solely on his status as a member of the LLC.

 

In opposition, Plaintiff fails to present any admissible evidence which creates a triable issue of material fact as to whether the Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco is not merely the fictitious name of Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC, but rather a separate entity, a general partnership, in which Dr. Williams is a partner.

 

Drs. Wong, Schwartz, Mosaddegh, Hirabayashi and Aguilar’s Motions

 

Defendants Drs. Wong, Schwartz, Mosaddegh, Hirabayashi and Aguilar’s (collectively, “Defendants”) objections to evidence are OVERRULED.  Defendants failed to provide a proposed order with their objections as required by California Rules of Court, rule 3.1354(c).

 

Defendants’ motions for summary judgment are GRANTED. After full consideration of the evidence, separate statements and authorities submitted by each party, the Court finds that Defendants have established that they never provided any care or treatment to Plaintiff at any time and were members of the limited liability company “Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC,” doing business as “Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco,” when Plaintiff was purportedly injured as a result of the care provided by defendant Dr. Andrew Iwach on March 9, 2011.  (See Defendants’ Undisputed Statements of Material Facts, Nos. 1-5; Declaration of Bret R. Landless in Support of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, Exhibits G and H.)  Pursuant to Corporations Code section 17101, Defendants cannot be liable to Plaintiff based solely on their status as members of the LLC.

 

In opposition, Plaintiff fails to present any admissible evidence which creates a triable issue of material fact as to whether the Eye Surgery Center of San Francisco is not merely the fictitious name of Eye Surgical Center of San Francisco, LLC, but rather a separate entity, a general partnership, in which Defendants are each partners.